1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of manufacturing optical devices, and in particular, to methods of manufacturing optical devices having protective materials that must be cured and advanced optical materials that must be activated.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the purposes of the present discussion, an optical device may be any device or medium that relies on optics to function properly. Examples of optical devices include, but are not limited to, Compact Discs (CDs), Digital Video Discs (DVDs), High Density DVDs (HD-DVDs), Blu-ray discs, and so on.
Systems and methods for selectively activating products are employed in various demanding applications including product theft-prevention, rental-return enforcement, and prevention of copyright infringement. Such applications often demand cost-effective systems that are difficult to circumvent, yet convenient to control with the appropriate equipment.
Systems for selectively activating products are particularly important in theft-prevention applications involving readily shoplifted optical devices, such as CDs and DVDs. Conventionally, such optical devices are tagged with a theft-prevention device, such as a sticker or a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) that is deactivated upon purchase. When deactivated, the devices prevent alarm-triggering tag functions from triggering alarms when a customer exits a merchandise outlet, such as a retail store.
Unfortunately, thieves often readily notice and remove such tags. Furthermore, RFID tags may undesirably increase product costs and may further emit undesirable radio frequencies even after deactivation. For example, such frequencies may not be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for in-flight use.
The related patent applications cited above describe systems for selectively enabling and disabling optical devices. In the latter application, the optical blocking materials are applied to the readable surface of the optical device during production, and are then activated by applying sufficient energy to change the optical blocking material from a non-transparent condition into a transparent condition. The optical blocking material can then be masked and partially activated during production to reduce the energy required to fully activate the optical device later in retail or other supply chain settings.
Low cost, scratch resistant lacquer or film-based materials can be used as a platform to deliver functional materials to optical-based products, such as optical discs. Ultraviolet (UV) light is generally used to manufacture these products. The requirement for UV light in the manufacturing and printing process forces other wavelengths of light to be used for additional advanced optically sensitive materials. This leaves only the visible and infrared spectrums for activating optically activated materials, allowing reading, data storage and/or security activation. Generally, the infrared spectrum does not produce enough energy to rapidly activate optically sensitive materials. This leaves only the UV and visible spectrums to drive photonic reactions during manufacturing and product activation processes. Currently the UV spectrum is set aside in manufacturing for curing, coating and printing of optical components. Therefore, this leaves only the visible spectrum (400 to 750 nm wavelength) for the function and/or activation of optically activated materials. Unfortunately, the visible spectrum cannot be used for products that might be activated or are intended to function in light emitting devices like a CD or DVD player. Furthermore, materials that can be activated in the visible spectrum are often susceptible to sunlight damage.